John—
Over the last few weeks, like so many of you, I’ve been outraged by the unapologetic evidence of systemic racism on display across the country — but more importantly, I've been inspired by the passion and power of those fighting for racial justice and a new vision for our country.
As we know from our fight for reproductive freedom, systemic change doesn't happen overnight, and progress can be slow. But if I know one thing, it’s that with the dedication of NARAL members, we’ll keep moving in the right direction.
This is bigger than just one email or public statement, and we are committed for the long haul. We must keep having conversations, elevating Black voices, listening and acting when called upon — even when the smoke clears and the cameras disappear. We do this work because it’s our moral and ethical obligation, and we do this work because racism is an inherent part of reproductive oppression. We will never secure reproductive freedom unless we also fight for racial justice.
I want you to know what we’ve done so far, what’s next, and how you can get involved. I know this is a long email, but I hope you’ll read from start to finish, John — and then take action.
Our commitment
Here at NARAL, we know that we need to be working every day to unlearn and fight against systems of structural racism in order to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
As a historically white organization, we recognize that it is not NARAL’s place to lead in the fight for racial justice, but instead to listen to and follow the lead of Black staff, Black board members, and Black‑led organizations. As part of our commitment to anti‑racism, we will be:
- Centering our internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work to examine our own role in — and make good on our commitment to — upholding the value of racial justice.
- Elevating Black — especially Black-woman led — organizations who have long been doing the work to fight for racial justice, reproductive justice, and structural reform. (So far, together we’ve raised nearly $50,000 for SisterSong, Higher Heights, and In Our Own Voice. If you haven’t gotten a chance to donate to these three incredible organizations, please consider doing that now.)
- Working in solidarity for racial justice on Capitol Hill and beyond. Over the past two weeks, NARAL has joined with hundreds of progressive allies in an effort led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, to call on congressional leadership to take swift and decisive legislative action in response to ongoing police brutality, including murders and other violence against Black people, and push the Department of Justice to investigate the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
- Providing members like you with educational resources and opportunities to use your voice. Just this week, we joined with MoveOn, Indivisible, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Ultraviolet to host an anti-racism Facebook Live series. Watch the video of yesterday’s event here and sign up for future events here.
Committing ourselves to racial justice work is deeply intertwined with NARAL’s mission to achieve reproductive freedom for every body. Every person should have the freedom to decide when, if, how, and with whom they have families — AND every parent should be able to raise children in safe, healthy environments, free from state violence. We can’t have true reproductive freedom without dedicating ourselves to racial justice.
If you have thoughts on how NARAL can best serve the movement for racial justice, please reply to this email. I welcome your thoughts and perspectives.
Let’s talk about what’s next
Moving ahead for the rest of this year, we’re going to be focusing on 5 big priorities to tie together the work for reproductive freedom and racial justice:
- Education — We pledge to regularly share and uplift anti-racist resources for our members while integrating anti-racist priorities into our campaigns going forward.
- Advocacy — Along with our partners in the racial justice space, we endorsed a resolution introduced by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Karen Bass, and Barbara Lee condemning all acts of police brutality, racial profiling, and excessive use of force. We’re supporting and uplifting our partners who are calling for the implementation of policies — at all levels of government — to end these injustices. In addition, we’ll continue to work on the federal and state level to protect and expand reproductive freedom.
- Fighting Disinformation — Many people are unaware that the anti-choice movement grew directly out of the pro-segregation movement. Reproductive oppression is one way the white Radical Right seeks to keep women — especially those who are Black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) — from realizing their aspirations and equality. The more people know about the anti-choice movement’s secret history and their rise to political influence, the better we can fight back against their disinformation. To help spread this awareness, I wrote The Lie That Binds to expose their ploys to control women and maintain white supremacy. You can read more about the book here.
- Senate Accountability — The Supreme Court is set to rule any day now in cases that could gut access to abortion, roll back birth control coverage, and strip away legal protections against job discrimination for LGBTQ+ people and many others. We’re in this position because of senators’ decision to rubber-stamp Trump’s nominees, despite massive public outcry. Now, it's time to hold politicians accountable and elect leaders who will fight with us for the world we want.
- 2020 Election — NARAL has launched our biggest and boldest electoral program ever to flip the Senate, expand our majority in the House of Representatives, and make Donald Trump a one-term president. But to win, each of us is going to have to step up in new ways and push ourselves to do more than we ever have before.
How we do it (it’s with you!)
Over the coming weeks and months, we’re going to be talking a lot more about all of these plans and ways for you to get involved. But in the meantime, here’s where you can start, John:
John, thank you again for being a part of this community. Your support makes our work possible.
In solidarity,
Ilyse Hogue
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
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